Harrison creates an
entertaining and educational experience for young readers as the dog explores
the forest and converses with a collection woodland creatures and plants. The short simple
verses follow a question and answer format which makes them suitable read-aloud
experiences for paired readers.

Friday, October 16, 2015

Greenfield celebrates
family connections in the form of siblings in this collection of 25 poems about
brothers and sisters that reaches across generations to include "Grandma
And Her Sisters" and Grandpa and Great-Uncle Paul. The verses vary in
style from tight rhymes to free verse. Individual works clearly express emotions such as love, anger, frustration, jealousy,
admiration, and respect with a sense of
balance and an emphasis on the positive.

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Thanks
for having me here at All About Books. My newest book, Freedom’s Price (Calkins
Creek 2015) is coming out this month and I’m so happy to have a chance to talk
about it!

Freedom’s
Price is about Dred Scott’s children.
The Dred Scott Decision of 1857 is something that sounds familiar to
most of us from American History – even if we can’t quite place the reference.
In the decades before the Civil War one of the burning issues of the day was if
slavery would extend to the Western territories as the country expanded. The
Missouri Compromise tried to settle the question by saying that north of
Missouri slavery was prohibited but to the south slavery was permitted. Of course this compromise didn’t really solve
the problem. What would happen if a slave owner took a slave into the northern
territories? This is exactly what happened to Dred Scott, a slave whose owner
took him to Illinois and Wisconsin. There he married another slave, Harriet,
and then they moved with Dred’s owner to St. Louis, Mo. Dred and Harriet had two daughters who were
legally the owner’s property and could be taken from them at any time. The Scotts sued for their freedom. The case took 10 years and ended up at the
Supreme Court. In a shameful decision, the Court ruled that Dred and Harriet,
as persons of African ancestry, could never be citizens and therefore had no
rights at all. Needless to say, this inflamed Northern abolitionists and set
the country on the path to war.

The Dred Scott Decision was so
important – but what people forget is that there were human beings
involved. Dred and Harriet were like any
parents who wanted to protect their kids. It was dangerous to sue their owners
and in fact they had to live in a jail for many years. Harriet and Eliza did
laundry by the shore of the Mississippi to earn their keep. Although the Scotts
were illiterate, they sent their oldest daughter Eliza – even though it was
illegal to teach black children. She
went to school on a ship anchored in the middle of the Mississippi River (which
was federal territory). I was fascinated with the idea that Eliza would be told
that she was free, but she lived in a prison. She could read but had to hide
her knowledge. Her patron was a
slave owner but also extraordinarily kind.
And when cholera and a massive fire strike St. Louis, Eliza has to
choose between freedom for herself or continued captivity with her family.

Freedom’s Price was a challenge to
write because the Scotts left no written record behind. They couldn’t
write! Eliza survives her childhood but
never records her experiences. We have one picture of Eliza but it’s when she’s
an adult. It’s from the single interview that we have with the Scott family.
After they were freed they started a laundry business in St. Louis.

Friday, October 9, 2015

Puppies rule in MacLachlan's collection of fourteen free-verse poems
that share a puppy state of mind. A poem titled Rules begins: "No lick! / No bite! / No
jump. / No bark. / No fun". Verses
touch on an assortment of puppy-related topics: names, playing in the rain,
capturing wriggling critters to present to owners, and that puppy favorite -
sleep... I'm tired. / Being born / is / very / hard / work.

My favorite..."What Did I
Do??". I'll let you explore the book and discover the answer.

Illustrator Schneider's assortment of puppies are captured in a variety of entertaining poses.

Friday, October 2, 2015

Now that October has arrived,
Halloween-themed books are a major request from young readers. I thought
I'd get a head start with this entertaining collection. Brown is clearly
enjoying the opportunity to play with sound in these fanciful nonsense verses
inspired by the season's spooky holiday.

The Gingerbread Cowboy Book Trailer

NEW RELEASE!

A Picture Book for young readers

New Book Trailer

MONTY

BUY A BOOK -- HELP A DOG!Meet Monty -- A remarkable rescue dog with an international following. From his guardians to his doctors, Monty's loving spirit captures hearts with an I-can-do-it grin and a wagging tail.

Proceeds from every sale of Monty's book go to animal rescue organizations.

The Gingerbread Cowboy

The Gingerbread Cowboy

Autographed Copies of The Gingerbread Cowboy are now available online at OutWest Marketing.

REVIEW SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

As an author, I know how personal the writing experience is and I understand how much hard work and heart goes into the creation of a story. I only publish positive reviews so I am very selective when it comes to choosing books to appear on this site.

Before making an inquiry please look at books already reviewed here to get a feel for the types of books that interest me.

To submit a book for review: email your query or press release to jsquiresbooks@ca.rr.com. Include the following information: Cover jpeg, Title, Author, ISBN, Publisher, publication date, number of pages, genre. a brief (about 100 words) summary, book awards or reviews, author bio (50 words or less), and contact information: email, website, blog.

Due to the volume of review requests that I receive, I only respond to inquiries that interest me. If you don't hear from me within 30 days, it is probably safe to assume I won't be in touch.

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About Me

I began my career writing for regional and national magazines then shifted my interest to children's books. My picture book, "The Gingerbread Cowboy," published by HarperCollins, was the Arizona Governor's 2007 First Grade Book.
I belong to SCBWI and Women Writing the West.

Author Visits

Coming Events

2018

January 13 Celebration of Local Authors - 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM Old Town Newhall Library, 24500 Main Street Santa Clarita, CA. This is always a fun event with dozens of authors in many different genres on hand to introduce you to their work, share their experiences in panel discussions, and answer questions. Come discover a new favorite author or book!

February 3 Simi Valley Library Annual Book Festival. I'll be the featured author. I'll offer a presentation, and books will be available to purchase and have signed. More details to follow.